Rev. Francis J. Spellman presided at the ceremony honoring the new Fordham University - City Hall Division location at 302 Broadway. The new building would house the School of Education, The School of Adult Education, The School of Business, and the School of Law.

Before Fordham University acquired the 302 building, it was owned by the Estate of William Astor. On the southeast corner of Broadway and Duane St., the building was designed by architect, George B. Post and erected by the Tide-Water Building Company.

The Law School moved to the Vincent Astor Building in 1943. The 11th and 12th floors were used for classrooms, the thirteenth floor for administrative offices and the law library was located on the 14th floor. A Chapel was built on the first floor of the building in memory of a Fordham College graduate, Private James V. Meade, who died in combat in Germany in 1945.